U2’s Tour Manager Found Dead in Los Angeles Hotel Room [Video]

U2’s tour manager, Dennis Sheehan, was recently found dead in a Los Angeles hotel room. The man, 68, is said to have suffered cardiac arrest. He had built up a significant relationship with the band over the past 33 years, and they are said to be in extreme mourning over his passing.

The band had only just opened up the start of a five-night show at Los Angeles’s Forum when the aforementioned death occurred. The man was pronounced dead at the scene after authorities reported to a call regarding an individual not breathing. The time at which responders arrived, according to fire Inspector Randall Wright, was 5:34am. The sheriff’s department is said to have taken over the matter at 5:59am, after the original authorities left the scene following the realization that Sheehan was dead.

Police have since given the statement that although it is presumed that U2’s manager died of natural causes, the possibility of a homicide has not been entirely ruled out. Homicide investigators are, at this time, said to be looking into the death to see if everything is not entirely as it seems.

Lead singer Bono took to U2’s website to express his extreme sorrow at the matter, going on to say that the loss of Sheehan was akin to losing a family member as that was the level of closeness the manager had to the members of the band. The 55-year-old says that the manager was not only a legend in the music business, but also in the band. Bono says that Sheehan is irreplaceable, and that the group is still trying to allow the reality to sink in that the man is really and truly gone from their lives forever.

Yesterday night, May 27, the band gave a heartwarming music tribute to the man in order to express their devastation at his death. Before beginning the song Isis from the recently released U2 album Songs of Innocence, Bono said “What a privilege to share the stage with these brothers of mine and to share this evening with you who have given us everything”.

The Ireland native went on to share an anecdote regarding the time that the band threw a Led Zeppelin themed party for Sheehan, organized to pay respect to the fact that the man had been working for the rock star back in the 70’s when he had first arrived in Los Angeles. The band’s current tour, Innocent and Experience, began earlier this month in Vancouver, Canada.

U2 was not the only big name that Sheehan worked with over the past three decades; indeed, other than Led Zeppelin there were several other major rock stars that he had built a business relationship with. The other musicians included in this list are Patti Smith, Lou Reed, and Iggy Pop.

There is not yet any word as to what kind of memorial service, if any, the rock music manager legend is set to have. The aforementioned investigation regarding the reason surrounding his death is still ongoing, and his family and friends are asking for privacy/respect in their time of grief.